Balancing the display - in three steps

Photos by Higuchi Takeshi (C)
Text and illustrations performed by Morten Albek (C)

1) It is very important to place the trees with the right movement. Every tree will have a movement, and with cascades it is very obvious in what direction they point. Use the trees with the clearest movements to bring the trees together, by pointing them into the center of the arrangement. Trees with a looser form, or with less movement, are used to make the scenery calmer, and making smaller hints of directions.

The movements have to be made with coolness, if not to be too dominating and overdone. It is all a matter of making balance in the composition.

All trees must point to each other and into the center of the setup.

Always use an uneven number of trees.

2) The second step is to arrange the display table and secondary tree (according to the selected display at the picture). The scalene triangle is an important tool to bring in natural balance in both bonsai and display.

If the main tree in this composition, the Black Pine, was placed in the center of the composition, it would look very unnatural and without the right balance.

It is exactly the same as making balance in a photograph or painting. Never place the main object in the middle.

3) A third balancing matter are the empty spaces. They bring at foremost calmness into the display area. Empty spaces are very important, because they will also make balance between the filled area and the empty area.

Look at the illustration,that shows that approximately 50% is filled area (bonsai and display tables), and another 50% is space.

Also look how the empty space is placed with fine balance according to the active elements.